


The Simplest Moment

by emanthony



Series: The Biggest Change [3]
Category: Hunter X Hunter
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-04-22
Updated: 2017-02-07
Packaged: 2018-03-25 08:05:14
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 9,458
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3802927
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emanthony/pseuds/emanthony
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>I'm writing small one-scene vignettes featuring Hisoka and Illumi.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Show Me

It wasn't that Hisoka was vain (although he was), it was simply that he'd forget he was wearing a sheet of Texture Surprise to smooth over freckles and scars. Sometimes it wasn't until he already stepped out of the shower that it dawned on him that he hadn't -- actually -- undressed.

 

He'd forget when with Illumi, too. 

 

"Hah? That's new. Hisoka, your knees have freckles," Illumi said.

 

Hisoka glanced down from where he was seated above Illumi in his big wrinkled bed. They were both mostly undressed, wearing sleeping pants and socks, and lounging among a plethora of pillows and blankets. They were playing Old Maid, but not very competitively. It had been a long day and they were both tired and moving slowly. "Ah, yeah. I freckle without sunscreen," he explained. "I've had those since I was little."

 

"I've seen your knees before," Illumi said, brushing a hand over the skin there. "I've never seen freckles."

 

"I cover them with nen. Texture Surprise."

 

"Why?"

 

"Sun protection. Added joint support. Vanity," Hisoka listed. "In that order."

 

"Hm." Illumi leaned in and kissed one knee cap. Hisoka went still and then grinned fangedly.

 

"Dear Illumi. You should be mindful of where you kiss. I'll get ideas." He then spread his legs, brows arching suggestively.

 

Illumi huffed, matching Hisoka's lewd stare with an earnest look of his own, and kissed the inside of his knee. And then the inside of his thigh. He glanced down, blinked, and sat up again. "Your thighs have them, too." He sounded genuinely surprised.

 

"Mmhmm," Hisoka said, his playing cards abandoned at his side, watching Illumi with rapt attention.

 

Illumi crawled up the bed and caged his arms around Hisoka's middle, looking down at him now through a fan of long black hair. "Your use of nen so naturally in your life is unusual."

 

"Are you irritated?" Hisoka asked. 

 

"Show me," Illumi said. "You have freckles I have never seen. Show me."

 

"Only on my legs," Hisoka said. He smiled sweetly and tilted his head to the side. "I promise." He reached up, cording a hand through the soft silky mass of Illumi's hair, and drew him down into a kiss. "But I'll show you."

 

"It will be useful for your file that father keeps," Illumi lied, covering his needs like he always did, fitting the situation around his life's work of family devotion -- rather than to something as basic as desire. "To know your identifying marks."

 

"I'll show you," Hisoka said, and he laid back, pulling Illumi on top of him. "Because you asked so nicely."


	2. Musk

Hisoka had joined a fighting tournament that kept him in Azia for two nights and Illumi was left alone in their shared condo for the first time since they moved in five months ago.

 

He was actually enjoying it. 

 

No shoes left piled by the door. Plenty of food left in the fridge. No random broken furniture sat up against a wall with an apologetic note. No random hand down the back of Illumi's pants while he tried to detangle his hair before a shower.

 

Feeling light and at ease, Illumi strolled into their large white marbled kitchen and straight to the beverage fridge beneath one counter. He opened it to fetch is favorite soda -- Strawberry Crush --

 

And came up empty.

 

"Hm." He paced the kitchen for a moment before pulling out his phone and typing out a quick message.

 

17:02 Illumi: Where can I get Strawberry Crush? You did not restock the refrigerator before you left.

 

A moment later, he got a reply.

 

17:04 Hisoka: Grocery store.

 

Illumi wrinkled his nose. He hadn't been to a grocery store yet and he didn't plan to start now.

 

17:04 Illumi: You have some hidden. Where is it?

17:05 Hisoka: What makes you think that?

17:06 Illumi: You probably set this up on purpose so you could irritate me from a continent away.

17:06 Hisoka: You know me so well. <3

17:06 Illumi: Where have you hidden them?

17:07 Hisoka: There's one in my closet. 

 

Illumi closed the message and turned to go to Hisoka's room. It smelled like detergent and that spicy-sweet scent Hisoka seemed to have naturally. Illumi opened the closet and the scent was stronger, warmer. Illumi leaned in, breathing it in.

 

Something in his chest twinged, a little. His eyes snapped open in surprise and he jerked back from the closet, like it had cast some kind of spell to make him feel --

 

Illumi tucked his hair behind his ears and dove back into the walk-in closet, determined. He flipped on the switch by the door and the small square space was lit up by a blueish bulb. Shoes were piled against one wall and suits of varying colors were hung up along a rack. More casual clothes were folded opposite of them on shelves. Illumi glanced around but didn't want to touch anything.

 

17:09 Illumi: I do not see it.

17:09 Hisoka: It's in the pocket of my black costume.

17:10 Illumi: Which? You have --

 

Illumi counted. 

 

17:10 Illumi: Which? You have five.

17:11 Hisoka: Hm, I don't remember. One of them.

 

Sighing, Illumi stepped forward. He pulled the first suit towards himself and patted it down. Nothing. He did the same with the second -- and his hand hit a familiar cylinder. He unhooked the hanger from the rack and pulled the suit off, holding it in one hand while the other shuffled into the pocket to retrieve the can. As he did, Hisoka's scent overwhelmed him for a moment. He blinked down at the dark fabric and took another breath. He brought the soft, silky material to his face and inhaled. 

 

His chest tightened. He'd always liked the way Hisoka smelled, even when they were younger. After all, the first time he and Hisoka ever interacted, he could only track him by scent. Hisoka spent months killing Illumi's marks before Illumi could get there, and his only calling card was that warm spicy musk. Illumi had come to recognize him from that alone. It wasn't until months later that he got to put a face to it.

 

The memory of it was so strong. Illumi didn't even realize he was hugging the suit against himself until his phone buzzed in his own pocket. He jerked back and shook out his head, clearing it of frivolous thoughts. He fetched the can of Strawberry Crush, pulled out his phone, and left Hisoka's suit dropped carelessly on the floor, because that's what he got for being a soda-smuggling asshole.

 

17:15 Hisoka: Miss me yet?

17:16 Illumi: No.


	3. Gum

There were times Illumi found Hisoka's cockiness an acceptable response to his present circumstances -- he was, in fact, stronger than most. This was not one of those times.

 

"You cannot spar with me while chewing gum," he insisted.

 

"There's little I cannot do," Hisoka replied. He blew a bubble and it popped, loudly. 

 

"It is unsafe," Illumi said, eyes narrowing.

 

"You think so little of yourself," Hisoka replied, pointing at him with a long, sharp-tipped finger, "Aren't you more dangerous than gum?"

 

"I am," Illumi said.

 

"I'll just avoid you the entire fight," he said. "If you can't get me, the gum surely can't. Right?" 

 

Illumi's eyes narrowed even farther, jaw ticking. "You cannot spend an entire sparring session evading my attacks. They will land." Eventually.

 

Hisoka blew another bubble in response.

 

"Fine," Illumi conceded.

 

And that's how Illumi wound up punching Hisoka in the gut so hard that the gum went flying through the air. Unfortunately, it did not go far -- from Hisoka's lips into the ends of Illumi's long silky hair. The two of them landed with a loud whumph against the gymnasium floor, breathing heavily. 

 

Illumi sat up first and winced as his hair pulled together painfully on the wad of gum. 

 

"Oh no," Hisoka said. He was smiling so broadly that lesser men would be blind from it.

 

"Get it out," Illumi grunted, turning his head so Hisoka could reach the gum.

 

Hisoka tugged at it, Illumi inhaled sharply, and Hisoka let go. He laughed. He covered his face with a hand and laughed.

 

"I am not amused," Illumi replied. "Get it out."

 

"I -- aha --" Hisoka reached for the wad again, and started laughing before he even tried fishing it out.

 

"I will fucking kill you," Illumi said, ire ticking up to near-lethal levels. 

 

"We have -- we have to cut it out, dear Illumi --" Hisoka said between breaths. "I'm sorry."

 

Illumi rose to his feet and glared down at Hisoka with intent to kill. He could crush his face into the mat. Smash his sternum into his heart. Kick his guts into slush. Crush the stupid cock he was so proud to have. "You got it in my hair. And I told you not to fight while chewing gum."

 

"I have told you not to fight with your hair down like that," Hisoka reasoned.

 

Illumi's rage snapped out of him in a black cloud of fury so intense that his hair fanned out around his face. But then the gum caught, pulling the strands of his hair hard, and Illumi winced again. The sudden, irritating pain cut through his rage and he hissed, reaching up to hold his scalp.

 

The familiar swish of Hisoka's playing cards cut through the air and suddenly the pain was alleviated. Illumi blinked and looked to the far wall. A playing card -- ace of hearts -- was embedded there, with a chunk of Illumi's hair, and the wad of gum.

 

Hisoka stood up and reached up to pet Illumi's scalp. "I'm sorry." His hair was uneven at the ends now, with one chunk about six inches shorter than the rest.

 

Illumi slapped his hand and walked away, silently. Later that evening, Hisoka knocked on his bedroom door but Illumi didn't answer. He cracked it open, slid a chocolate milkshake (with an extra cherry on top) inside, and closed the door back. Illumi stared at the drink for several minutes before retrieving it, drinking it dry, and then returning to Hisoka's room to spend the night.


	4. Squab

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hisoka shares a bit about his childhood and Illumi feels things he hasn't really felt before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick little thing written during my lunch break, based on a head canon thought up by my friend Rose.

Certain things would just set Hisoka off and he'd spend minutes laughing, covering his face with one hand, holding his stomach with the other, and he couldn't even breathe. Illumi wasn't sure he had ever personally laughed like that before, but Hisoka was sure to do so at least weekly. 

 

This time, it was over dinner. They were at a high-end restaurant called Claude's and seated together on a plush booth bench at the edge of the dining room, next to a window that looked out over a small urban garden. Illumi had his hair up in a high ponytail and wore a charcoal-gray suit, no tie. Hisoka had left his currently bluish purple hair down, but parted on one side, and was wearing a suit made of silky off-white material and had a skinny tie to match.

 

 

They sat with a decent space between, but knees spread and touching beneath the table. Kind of subtle, and completely unnecessary, because everyone in that restaurant knew those two men were involved. No one requested that particular table unless they were on a date. It forced the two diners to sit side-by-side, after all.

 

 

Nevertheless, Illumi wanted a night of niceties, having booked this reservation months ago, and Hisoka was playing along. He hadn't said anything lewd and hadn't touched Illumi inappropriately.

 

 

"Yorkshin strip, served as rare as you can legally give me, please," Hisoka ordered. 

 

 

"I will have the squab," Illumi followed up, handing the waiter their menus. The waiter dashed off without a word and Illumi reached over to pour the rest of the bottle of wine into his own glass.

 

 

"Not going to offer me any?" Hisoka asked.

 

 

"I need it more than you," Illumi said. "You did not even kill anyone today. I handled six."

 

 

"The night is young," Hisoka said. "I have plenty of time to catch up."

 

 

"Yes, but I know exactly how the rest of our night will go, and you will not catch up." Illumi brought the glass to his lips and took a sip, and risked a glance to Hisoka to see if he caught the meaning.

 

 

He had and he was grinning ear to ear. "You tease me."

 

 

"Only a little," Illumi said. "The truth is that I need a massage and I know how easily you are distracted from the task."

 

 

"You haven't complained yet."

 

 

"I will not complain," Illumi agreed.

 

 

Hisoka leaned on his hands, elbows propped up against the table, watching Illumi with razor-sharp yellow eyes. "The wine's making you a bit loose."

 

 

He was just horny. One of the men he killed offered to suck him off if he let him live, and of course Illumi said no, but then his mind immediately placed Hisoka in the man's place. Begging. Illumi went pink in the cheeks but his deadpan stare remained the same. 

 

 

"We could just go," Hisoka said. 

 

 

A long-fingered hand slid onto Illumi's knee and he reflexively parted his legs. He swallowed and then opened his mouth to agree, but the waiter appeared, suddenly, holding plates of food.

 

 

A sizzling steak and a steaming bird were placed in front of each of them. Illumi sat straight and lifted his fork to just get through this meal as quickly as possible so he could go home and plow his boy...roo...fr... ahem, Hisoka.

 

 

But he hadn't even speared the squab before Hisoka was giggling at his side.

 

 

"What?" Illumi asked, blinking over to see Hisoka staring at Illumi's dinner with wide eyes.

 

 

"You're eating a pigeon."

 

 

"Mm, yes. Did you not know what squab is? It's a young pigeon." Illumi's eyebrows raised. "What's so funny?"

 

 

Hisoka's eyes watered as he tried to control his laughter, but he couldn't. "It's on the menu for four hundred thousand jenny," he choked out from behind one hand.

 

 

Illumi sighed like a worn-out parent and placed his fork back down. "Yes."

 

 

"I'm sorry -- it's just --" Hisoka laughed harder the more he tried to control himself. "A pigeon."

 

 

"I do not get it."

 

 

"Aha -- ha -- I just --" He took a deep breath and swallowed hard, containing the laughter, finally. "I used to eat _squab_ regularly, that's all."

 

 

He rarely understood Hisoka's laughter. Illumi paused for a minute and then said, "I still do not get it."

 

 

"When I saw the bird," Hisoka explained, "I remembered exactly how it used to be. When I was young. I used to have to catch food to eat -- pigeons were the easiest. They were dirty but their necks broke very easily and they tasted better than stray cats, so..." His hand twirled in the air as he continued to paint the picture, "I'd pull the feathers off and wash it off and roast it over a fire and when it was done --" he pointed to Illumi's plate. "That was it. That's what I used to eat. And it left me hungry, still, after it was done. Now it's on your plate and it costs a tiny little fortune."

 

 

He chuckled again, exhaled, and wiped moisture from the side of his eyes.

 

 

Illumi didn't think it was funny at all. He stared down at the bird on his plate for a minute, eyes widening, and then looked over to Hisoka. He couldn't pinpoint this feeling he had, but he knew it was bad. Like a muscle ache, but in the pit of his stomach. Made his hands feel a little numb. Was it sympathy? Pity? It was more like a sadness, he thought, analyzing his own feeling. Like regret. Or guilt.

 

 

He had no appetite now that he had envisioned a tiny child Hisoka carefully plucking clean a bird, carefully skewering it on random debris, carefully cooking it over an open flame in a cold damp city, alone. Hungry.

 

 

"I did not know."

 

 

Hisoka had torn into his steak and sliced off a bite, already done with the conversation. He wasn't hungry anymore. He didn't want for anything. 

 

 

It was frustrating how Hisoka's laughter could make Illumi feel things he hadn't ever acknowledged before now. He had never been a victim of sympathizing. 

 

 

Illumi ate his meal in silence. When he was done, Hisoka's hand returned to his knee beneath the table, subtle and polite like Illumi requested.

 

 

"Do you want to go home?" Hisoka asked.

 

 

Illumi watched Hisoka's face for a minute. The magician's brows ticked up curiously, mouth pursed, questioning. Illumi reached forward, winding both hands into Hisoka's hair, and pulled him into a kiss. It felt different than most of their kisses, because Illumi was returning the sadness. He didn't want it anymore. He didn't want to feel that regret-sympathy-guilt. 

 

 

Hisoka traced sharp nails along Illumi's hands before pulling them back. "You're upset?" he asked.

 

 

"No," Illumi lied, cording their fingers together, sliding their interwoven hands down against Hisoka's heart. "Just drunk."

 

 

Hisoka leaned in to place a rather chaste kiss on the corner of Illumi's mouth, and then pushed out of the booth they were seated in. He helped Illumi to his feet. "Well, I'll take care of you," he said. Ah, that was it, Illumi realized then.

 

 

_He wanted to take care of Hisoka._


	5. Kinky

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An anon wanted to know my personal headcanon for Hisoka and Illumi kinks. The short answer?
> 
> Normalcy.

 

The building that Hisoka and Illumi lived in was home to many very wealthy and very young elite -- peers to the odd pair -- and it wasn't unusual for Illumi to say hello in the halls or in the parking garage, almost like a normal human person. 

 

 

It was an unexpected perk of living outside the Zoldyck family.

 

 

He was checking his mail when Cora, a young woman from the twelfth floor, came into the mail room humming.

 

 

"Hello, Cora," he greeted with a small, sterile smile.

 

 

"Illumi, hello!" She grinned widely and marched over to her letterbox. She shot him an appreciative stare. "You look handsome, as usual."

 

 

"Thank you, Cora. You look nice yourself. Is it not a little warm for a scarf?" Illumi hugged his pile of mail to his chest and turned to face Cora as she juggled her mail keys. 

 

 

She blushed bright red. Illumi tilted his head.

 

 

"I did not mean --" he began to apologize.

 

 

"No, it's not that." She cleared her throat, glanced towards the door of the mail room, and then pulled her scarf down to reveal deep purplish bruising around her neck.

 

 Illumi's eyes widened. "Are you hurt?"

 

 "Mmhmm, but it was entirely worth it. Jarek gave it up good last night," she said. And then she sighed, dreamily. 

 

 It took a moment for the meaning of her words to register, but when they did, Illumi said, "Oh."

 

"Of course, now I have to wear this scarf in the summer heat so people don't think I'm being abused. Please. I just like it when he gets rough, you know? Well, I'm sure you do." She shot him a sly glance as she opened up her mailbox and began collecting the contents inside.

 

 Illumi tilted his head the other way. "I do not think I do," he said, honestly.

 

"Please. Like Hisoka isn't kinky as hell. I've heard the man speak. He could make reading a Chinese take-out menu sound absolutely pornographic."

 

Illumi thought on it a moment. "He is quite good at making innocent things sound inappropriate."

 

 Cora giggled and started back to the door. She brushed by Illumi, nudging him with an elbow. "And I'm sure you give it as good as you get it. Spare me the details. It can't be any worse than what I imagine."

Illumi's lips thinned into a tense white line.

 

 

* * *

 

Seated in Hisoka's bed, hair pulled into a high ponytail, dressed in silk pajamas, Illumi waited. Eventually Hisoka emerged from his shower, smelling clean and warm. He strolled naked through his room, toweling off his hair, and eventually deposited the wet towel on a rack mounted on his closet door. Hisoka climbed into bed a minute later, and leaned in to place a rather kind kiss on Illumi's cheekbone.

 

Illumi said, "I would like to try dirty talk."

 

"Dirty talk?" Hisoka's eyebrows lifted from beneath his purple bangs. Illumi shifted, slipping out from the covers, and crawled atop Hisoka and sat straddling his stomach. He narrowed his eyes a fraction. 

 

"Call me a dirty slut."

 

"Now?" Hisoka asked.

 

"Yes," Illumi said.

 

"Hm. No."

 

Illumi's eyes widened again. He tilted his head one way, ponytail following suit. "What about -- cockwhore?"

 

Hisoka barked out a laugh. "No."

 

"Call me a cockwhore."

 

"No," he said. 

 

"Why not?" Illumi asked, voice a genuine question.

 

"Do you want my cock?"

 

Illumi wrinkled his nose. "Not right now, I do not. You are frustrating me."

 

"That's why," Hisoka said. 

 

Illumi glared. He slid off Hisoka and back to his side of the bed, pulling the covers around himself. Their sex life was unusual, an oddity, and it made Illumi both frustrated and confused to try to understand. It should be more depraved, Illumi thought. For all that they were motivated by bloodlust and darkness, their sex was always simple. Straight forward. Heavy breathing, sweaty bodies, open-mouthed kissing, locked eyes. It was weird that their sex wasn't weird.

 

Hisoka kissed Illumi's shoulder and then sank into bed. "My apologies, dear Illumi. It must be our age difference."

 

"You are thirty," Illumi said.

 

"You wouldn't understand at such a spry twenty-six." Hisoka's eyes closed. Illumi scoffed. When Hisoka's breathing evened out minutes later, Illumi reached over to turn the lights off in the room. The space filled with blackness and Illumi slid down beneath the covers. He turned, nose-to-nose with Hisoka, and fell asleep too.

 

* * *

 

Something woke Illumi. He shifted, eyes blinking open into the darkness of Hisoka's room. His body shivered and he realized the covers were off of him, and he was naked already. He rubbed one eye and propped himself up on an elbow as Hisoka kissed up his bare thigh to his cock. When his lips closed around the tip, Illumi collapsed back on the bed with a muted groan.

 

He turned his head and found the blur of digital numbers on the nightstand alarm clock. 4am. He opened his mouth to complain to Hisoka about waking him so early, but Illumi's cock was swallowed down and Hisoka's nose brushed the fine thin hairs at its base and suddenly he had nothing to whine about. His hands shot down, sliding along Hisoka's scalp. 

It didn't take Hisoka long at all to make Illumi shiver and sweat. He panted, mouth open, face turned and pressed against his pillow. Hisoka kissed down his length, slowing his pace, and Illumi felt the muscles in his thighs jump. Hisoka guided one of Illumi's knees onto his broad pale shoulder before leaning back down. He kissed Illumi's stomach at the same time a slick lubricated finger pressed into his body. Illumi's hands fisted the sheets as he was worked open and body lavished with kisses, from his feather-soft happy trail up to his sternum and onto his neck. By the time Hisoka reached Illumi's lips and had three fingers inside, Illumi could barely keep his eyes open and his mouth shut. 

When Hisoka kissed him, one of Illumi's hands moved of its own accord, releasing the bedsheets and instead sliding around Hisoka's shoulder, gripping the smooth planes of his back. 

"Hisoka," he said, the sound of it muffled into their kiss.

"Mm," Hisoka shuddered and pulled his fingers out, only to replace them almost immediately with his cock. "That's..." his cock slid into Illumi, "pornographic," he grumbled, voice low and quiet.

Illumi, panting, looked into Hisoka's face. "Pornographic?"

"When you say my name, like that," he said, "-- it's how you dirty talk, Illumi."

 

"That is --" Hisoka pulled back and then drove home, hard, and Illumi gasped. It took him a moment to choke out, "That's not -- dirty talk --"

"Even if I called you..." Hisoka pushed himself up on his hands and looked down at Illumi from beneath his bangs. "Even if I called you cockwhore, right now, I wouldn't mean it."

Illumi said, "You lie. All the time."

Hisoka grinned fangedly and didn't respond except to snap his hips forward and back. Before Illumi could catch his breath, Hisoka began to fuck him hard -- fast. The thigh stretched out against Hisoka's shoulder began to ache and as if actually clairvoyant, Hisoka reached up to slide it around his waist instead. Illumi used both hands to hold onto his shoulders and found himself meeting Hisoka's thrusts, gasping every time their bodies met, cock wet between them.

"Illumi," Hisoka said. Illumi opened his eyes -- unaware he'd even closed them. "Will you say my name again?"

Illumi sighed it out like a prayer, "Hisoka."

 

 

Hisoka's hands slid out from where they were holding Illumi's ribcage. One snaked around Illumi's dick and squeezed, and the other framed his face, thumb stroking Illumi's lower lip. "Our sex --" he thrust in hard, once, breaking their rythym, and Illumi moaned as he was fucked deep. "-- is it -- unsatisfying?"

Illumi panted, "It's perfect." Hisoka stroked him fast, in total control of him now, and Illumi didn't even care.

"I love you," Hisoka said, and Illumi felt something white hot and completely unexpected lace down his belly with such force that his precum laced Hisoka's fingers like he'd nearly come from it. He cried out, head thrown to the side. "I love you," Hisoka said again, and Illumi felt some kind of heat in his face and his cock, body tightening, and he tried to tell him to stop, but only made a sound between a _yes_ and a _please_. "Is that getting you off, Illumi?" Hisoka asked. "Knowing that I love you?"

Illumi's nails tightened down, digging into Hisoka's shoulders, and he came screaming, thrusting up into Hisoka's hand and back down against his cock with desperate, uncoordinated movements. He was gasping for air and holding onto Hisoka so tightly that their noses were touching. Hisoka rolled his hips, grinding his cock inside Illumi, smiling and pleased. Illumi swallowed as he battled back the feelings of oversensation, mind tingling, body shaking.

He thought of what Hisoka said, how his name was dirty talk, so Illumi said, "Hisoka." Hisoka moaned. Illumi's insides tightened, jaw ticking, and he said it again, "Hisoka. Hisoka --"

"Ah --" Hisoka gasped out, coordination shot, eyes snapping closed. Illumi groaned softly when he felt Hisoka come inside, nerves making his limbs twitch where they were holding, or being held by, Hisoka.

They laid together like that for minutes, panting out of breath. Hisoka was the first to move, pushing himself up and off Illumi, and out of bed. Illumi pushed himself to his stomach. His eyes fluttered shut. He'd nearly fallen asleep when the bed dipped down with Hisoka climbing atop. His hands were damp and clean as he pushed Illumi's hair off his back and slid a clean cloth down his back and to his ass. He cleaned Illumi of lube and cum, pressing irreverent kisses along his spine and into the little dimples above his bum.

 

Hisoka left briefly and returned to slide into the covers, covering himself and Illumi in the warm dry pile of fabric that had been on the floor. Illumi rolled over to face him and as soon as he did, Hisoka placed a kiss on the end of his nose. Illumi yawned. Hisoka glaced over his head to the clock. "It's nearly five in the morning. You shouldn't be sleepy."

 

"You woke me up early," Illumi groused.

 

"I apologize."

 

"We still did not dirty talk," Illumi said.

 

Hisoka giggled.

 

"I want to try it."

 

"Go ahead, Lumi," Hisoka said.

 

"Your cock --" Illumi started. He fished for it for a moment and said, "-- is stupid."

 

Silence. And then the bed began to tremble as Hisoka attempted to hold in his laughter, but the dam broke, and he rolled onto his back roaring. "Aha -- haha!"

 

"I did not do it right," Illumi said, blinking wide eyes at Hisoka's nearly hysterical laughter.

 

Hisoka wiped one tearing eye with a hand and couldn't talk through his guffaws.

 

"Better than 'I love you,'" Illumi said.

 

"Mine made you cum ribbons," Hisoka said, nearly out of breath. He sighed, finally calming down. "Do you not know what gets you off?" He rolled back to his side, facing Illumi again.

 

Illumi sighed. "What?"

 

"Emotional intimacy," Hisoka said. 

 

Illumi's nose wrinkled in disgust. "That is not kinky at all."

 

"Mm. You're a freak."


	6. THC and TLC

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warning: weed brownies are consumed at the end of this fic.

“You’re home early,” Hisoka mumbled into Illumi’s hair. His hands wrapped around Illumi, sliding along his lower back and against the nape of his neck.

 

“No, I am not.” Yes he was. He rushed the last job he had that day so he could come home -- for this. Illumi sat back against Hisoka’s thighs and peeled off his shirt and leaned down to paw open the front of Hisoka’s pants.

 

They were sprawled out on the living room floor where Illumi had walked in on Hisoka watching television and had immediately pounced.

 

Shedding their clothes, panting against each other’s mouths, sweating and sucking and moaning --

 

Illumi pressed himself down on Hisoka’s cock, gasping against the stretch. He slid down until he was seated and immediately rolled forward, feeling the hardness press against his prostate with trained experience. He shuddered.

 

“You really want it tonight,” Hisoka said. Illumi looked down at him through black lashes and nodded. Hisoka pressed his feet flat to the floor and thrust up at the same moment Illumi rolled down and wrenched a scream out of him.

 

Goosebumps spread across Illumi’s skin and he grappled to hold onto Hisoka’s chest as they built pace, fucking faster.

 

“Is this it?” Hisoka asked, and he grunted as he fucked up, harder. “What you wanted?”

 

Illumi gasped and spread his legs farther, the muscles trembling in his thighs. He gasped for air once or twice more before peering down at Hisoka and saying, voice almost gentle, “Is it not what you want, too?”

 

That seemed to do something, because in the next instant, Hisoka had flipped him over, pressed him face-first into the couch, and began fucking him from behind hard and fast. Illumi’s screams were muffled against the cushions as he gripped and ripped the fabric, sweat rolling down his back as he begged for it.  _More, please, Hisoka, fuck, yes, yes, please, fuck me --_

 

And they weren’t even done after that.

 

An hour later, showered and warm, they were in Hisoka’s bed when Illumi mumbled, sleepily, that Hisoka had gone too hard; he was sore.

 

It led to Hisoka fingering him, gently, slowly, rocking his hand against Illumi’s entrance while he shuddered. They laid on their sides, facing each other, noses touching, eyes locked. Illumi felt his resolve snap when a finger brushed his prostate and he jerked involuntarily.

 

“Please,” he said.

 

“Hm?” Hisoka blinked and lifted his brows.

 

“Fuck me again,” Illumi said, simply, sliding a leg up Hisoka’s side and around his hip. He slotted their bodies together, Hisoka’s erection sliding against the wetness of the lubrication that coated his perineum.

 

“Now? You’re still lose,” Hisoka said. “You’re still wet...”

 

“I don’t care,” Illumi panted and rolled his hips down to meet Hisoka’s fingers as they pressed in and out. He moaned, eyes falling shut, and said, “Hisoka.”

 

So they fucked quietly, gently, in bed, gasping and groaning into a kiss. They were slotted against each other on their sides, chests touching, lips brushing.

 

“Can I come in you?” Hisoka asked, eventually, one hand grasping Illumi’s ass, the other slid deep into his hair.

 

Illumi nodded and kissed him. He shuddered when he felt Hisoka’s cum fill him inside and cried out against his lips as he came too, into Hisoka’s fist.

 

And then they did it again in the morning, with Hisoka’s tongue in Illumi’s ass. Illumi had his face buried into the pillows, thighs spread as taut as they could go, and his voice was finally sore from it. He cried out, hoarsely,  _yes, yes, please_ , until he came onto the sheets trembling and out of breath.

 

That's when Illumi realized he had a problem.

 

He limped around their kitchen, listening to the faint sound of Hisoka’s shower two walls away, and prepared his coffee. He went through the motions in a daze as he formulated a plan to get back on track. He needed self-discipline. Strength. He could fuck Hisoka all he wanted, of course, but only if he had earned it. Last night he had left a kill in a sloppy rush to come home and get fucked.

 

That couldn’t happen again.

 

Brows furrowed, he sat at the bar in the kitchen with a plate of fruit and his coffee, and ate silently.

 

Hisoka joined him a minute later, wearing nothing but gray drawstring sweatpants that hung off his muscular thighs. His hair was combed to the side, off his face. Silently, he assembled a plate of toast and slid into the stool next to Illumi. They ate quietly and then Hisoka yawned audibly before downing the cup of coffee at his side.

 

He hummed into the empty mug as he set it back down. He sighed.

 

And then he jerked, a little.

 

Illumi blinked, sleepy himself, and looked over.

 

Hisoka lifted a hand to his throat, brows pinching together in the middle. Illumi leaned over. “Is something wrong?”

 

“I --” Hisoka gagged, pressing his other hand to his mouth. His pasty skin had gone positively green. He stepped off the stool and it fell over with a clatter as he made his way to the sink, collapsed into it, and vomited.

 

Illumi was on his feet in an instant. Bad fruit? Illumi looked at Hisoka’s plate. And then looked at his coffee mug.

 

His stomach sank. “Hisoka, did you drink from my mug?” Illumi picked it up.

 

Hisoka, gasping for air, lifted his head from the sink. “I did.”

 

“It was poisoned,” Illumi said.

 

Hisoka’s eyes widened a fraction before he put his head back down into the sink and wretched again, back heaving. He lifted his sweaty face once more. “Who is poisoning you?”

 

“Me,” Illumi explained, “I take poison with my coffee every morning. It helps to maintain my immunity. I put in a double dose this morning.”

 

Hisoka narrowed his eyes. “Why?”

 

“Because we had too much sex last night and I was utilizing an opportunity for self-discipline.”

 

“You’re fucked up, Illu,” Hisoka groaned. “Antidote,” he said, and he held his hand out expectantly.

 

“I will have to go get some. I do not have any prepared,” Illumi said. “You should make your way to a restroom. It will be reaching your intestines now.”

 

On cue, Hisoka gripped his stomach. He turned dark, unamused eyes Illumi’s way.

 

“I apologize,” Illumi said. “I will fetch the antidote.”

 

* * *

 

The process took several hours, of feeding Hisoka the antidote, helping him shower (again), cleaning the toilet, and cleaning the kitchen sink. Hisoka laid asleep in bed, temperature spiked from the whole ordeal, and Illumi tried not to bother him.

 

But really, it was Hisoka’s own fault. He should have prepared his own mug of coffee.

 

Hisoka didn’t seem to see it that way. It was good that they had stocked up on sex before the poison, because he didn’t glance Illumi’s way for three days after. They didn’t touch. Kiss. They didn’t even talk. Illumi slept in his own bed, across the apartment from Hisoka’s bedroom.

 

Illumi was uncomfortable with the situation and had no real tools with which to address it. He wanted Hisoka to speak to him. That night, while Hisoka was out, Illumi climbed into his bed and waited for him to return home. He did, shortly before midnight. He stopped upon seeing Illumi in his bed, but said nothing. He changed into sleeping pants and slid beneath his covers without acknowledging the assassin at all.

 

Hisoka turned out the lights and laid on his side, back to Illu.

 

Illumi stared at him in the dark. Slowly, he reached a hand out. He placed it gently against Hisoka’s bicep. He didn’t move. Illumi bit his lip, curled his fingers in, and slid in close. He spooned Hisoka, pressing his nose into the nape of his neck, but he got no response.

 

Eventually they both fell asleep.

 

* * *

 

Day four.

 

Illumi paced the apartment that morning. He could force Hisoka to talk to him. A single needle inside his head; he would forget the incident even happened. But Hisoka was hard to pin down (literally) and there was the real possibility it would anger him further.

 

Finally, Illumi settled on a cliche.

 

He’d give Hisoka a present.

 

Illumi placed a phone call and within an hour, received a package, and went to the kitchen to get to work. Hours later and the apartment smelled like a freshly mowed lawn and browned butter. Midday, the housekeeper arrived.

 

“Will you help me remove the stink?” Illumi asked. She nodded dutifully and they aired the place out.

 

Illumi was closing the last window when the timer went off in the kitchen. Ping! He padded back in and shut the oven off, removing a heaping tin of brownies. He sniffed them, nodded, and placed them atop the stove to cool.

 

Then, he waited.

 

And waited.

 

Hours later, Hisoka returned home. He was wearing one of his costumes, pink and red, and had his make up and hair perfectly done. Illumi greeted him in the doorway of the kitchen, holding the pan.

 

“Hisoka,” Illumi said. “I prepared apology brownies.”

 

Hisoka moved like he would walk right by, but he slowed to a stop in front of Illumi. His mouth twitched.

 

“They are poisoned,” Illumi said. “I thought it would be appropriate.”

 

Hisoka slowly folded his arms across his chest. Illumi, going four days without an orgasm, was immediately distracted by how broad Hisoka’s shoulders were, how well-defined his biceps appeared flexed like that. He wanted to be held down by those arms --

 

He blinked his gaze back up to Hisoka’s face.

  
“They are infused with Tetrahydrocannabinol.”

 

Finally, Hisoka’s expression lifted. “I recognize one component of that word.”

 

“It is also known as THC,” Illumi expanded.

 

“Dear Illumi,” Hisoka said, and he appeared to be fighting a grin, “Did you make me pot brownies?”

 

Illumi nodded once, shortly. “They will relieve any subsequent symptoms you may be suffering from, because of the incident earlier this week. Additionally, I considered your particular penchant for humor, and I believed you would find it amusing that I would provide you with another poisoned edible in an attempt to rectify my mistake.”

 

“You made another mistake, Illu,” Hisoka said. Illumi’s stomach sank and he looked down at the tin, gleaming brown with perfectly applied icing. Hisoka reached out to take the pan from him and said, grin rather teasing, “There’s no way we can eat this much.”

 

* * *

 

The two of them were laid out practically boneless on the living room carpet, a third of the tin of brownies gone and the remaining batch placed haphazardly on the coffee table. Illumi had his legs propped up on the couch, his hair spread out on the floor like a gleaming black halo. Hisoka had his head propped up on Illumi’s chest, lying parallel to the couch with his arms folded across his middle.

 

“Damn,” was all Illumi could manage. The world was positively floating and in slow-motion. He had eaten the bulk of what was gone, because of his tolerance. It had hit. Hard.

 

Hisoka was smiling, eyes blinking tiredly. “You’re not a bad baker.”

 

Illumi giggled. “I just...followed a recipe.” He raised his hands and brought them down into Hisoka’s hair and shivered at how thick and soft it was against his fingertips. Like diving into warm water, except attached to someone he liked talking to. “I am glad you are speaking.”

 

“Were you worried I’d never talk to you again?”

 

Illumi’s mood sombered fast and hard. He swallowed, hesitated, and then nodded, vision blurring. He blinked, confused. And blinked again.

 

“Oh,” Hisoka said, and he pushed himself up. He laughed, the sound dry.

 

Illumi continued to blink, unable to see anything aside from this winking blur of light and figures. And then he felt the wetness slide down his cheek. And then down his temple, into his hair. Dumbfounded, he touched a hand to his face, and pulled it back to find it wet.

 

He was crying?

 

He tried pushing himself to sitting and found it difficult because his legs were hooked onto the couch cushions above. He scrambled like a turtle on it’s back until Hisoka hooked a hand beneath his knees and turned him so he was sitting properly against the ground. He sniffed and wiped at his face, more confused than anything.

 

Hisoka leaned in and kissed him. "I didn't mean to make you cry, love." Illumi sniffed again, and then kissed him back.

 

“I will not poison you again,” Illumi said.

 

Hisoka laughed, the sound rumbling through his chest. “I wasn’t mad about that.”

 

Illumi rubbed at his still-tearing eyes and furrowed his brow as he thought about it. “I do not understand.”

 

“You doubled the dosage because of some -- self-discipline.”

 

“Doubled…” Oh, that’s right. He had been practicing self-discipline, because he’d focused too much on Hisoka’s dick, and had rushed a job. “Ah.”

 

“Sex with me’s a bad thing?” Hisoka said. “It was rather insulting.”

 

“Oh.”

 

They fell silent.

 

Illumi said, “No.”

 

“No?”

 

“I was frustrated that I had rushed a job to come home and ride you. It was a work thing. You were not involved.”

 

Hisoka raised a brow and then dropped his head onto Illumi’s shoulder. “I was involved a little bit.”

 

Illumi rested his head against Hisoka’s and sighed, deeply. “A little bit.”

 

Slowly, they threaded their hands together, and the twinkling lights of the city filtered in through their living room windows, and the pair watched them in silence, together.

 

“Let’s watch a cooking show,” Illumi said, eventually.

  
“Okay,” Hisoka said, and he laughed, and Illumi was pretty sure he had been forgiven.


	7. Good With You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hiso and Illu discuss their sexual escapades over a documentary about shrimp. (I'm just hungry for shrimp.)

“Illu, was I your first?”

 

Illumi rolled his head over where he was laid out on the couch. His feet were in Hisoka’s lap, who was sitting at the other end of the sofa. They were watching a documentary about shrimp at three in the morning on the public education channel. “No,” Illumi answered.

 

“No?” Hisoka, blue hair down, shirt off, was wearing thick comfortable gray sweatpants that felt soft and warm on Illumi’s feet. “I don’t believe it.”

 

Illumi yawned and turned back to the television, his black hair tied up in a loose, messy bun atop his head. “Believe what you want.”

 

“Who was it?”

 

“There were two,” Illumi clarified.

 

“Only two?”

 

“I thought you did not believe I had been with anyone else.”

 

Hisoka’s hands slid up Illumi’s ankles. “Now that I know, I thought it would be more than two.”

 

“Just two.”

 

“Who?”

 

“I do not wish to share.”

 

Hisoka leaned in and placed a kiss on Illumi’s bare knee, just above the soft silk texture of his boxers. “Why not?”

 

“They are both still alive and my associating with them could change that and I would rather it not.”

 

“I won’t kill them,” Hisoka said. “Unless they’re good for a fight…”

 

“They are not, neither of them.”

 

“Are they both men?”

 

Illumi’s eyes snapped back to Hisoka. He just nodded, silently.

 

“Have you ever been with a girl at all?”

 

“Not at all.”

 

“Why not?”

 

“I am gay.”

 

“Well, surely you were curious… I was.”

 

“You are not gay.”

 

“You could say I’m still curious.”

 

“I have never felt inclined to romance someone of another gender than my own.”

 

Hisoka kissed Illumi’s other knee. “Tell me about them.”

 

Illumi sighed. “The first happened when I was eighteen and undercover on an island called Azcense. A cult operated there. I was hired to kill the cult leader; but he made rare appearances. I spent some time on the island as a member and one of the other members took a liking to me.”

 

“Mm.” Hisoka watched Illumi talk, bright yellow eyes glowing in the dimmed light of their living room.

 

“By then, I knew where my preferences lie, but I had never had anything more than fleeting glances at any men. There was simply no place for it in my life. It was impractical. But I was on the island for a month, and by the end of week two, I fell into this simple, calm routine, and this man spent time with me. On purpose.

 

“I had to go into a wooded area to collect firewood and he followed. Naturally, I had to pretend like finding appropriate wood and cutting it would be arduous to hide my true strength, but after several hours, I realized I was actually lingering to spend time with him privately. I weighed my options before deciding to share a kiss. I asked him to hold one log, and he did, and when his arms were full and he could not use them, I kissed him.

 

“I don’t think he realized it was my first time. He threw the log aside and I was so startled by his sudden eruption that I let him grab me and he kissed me again and said he had wanted me as soon as he saw me. That he wanted me on my knees…

 

“I challenged him to make me and then we wrestled until I wound up on the ground with my pants around my ankles and his tongue inside of me. He had brought lubrication and condoms, which leads me to believe he had planned this for some time. I was pleased.”

 

Hisoka, still leaned over and kissing Illumi’s knees, ticked his eyebrows up. “You had sex on a forest floor?”

 

“He put down his coat. He was quite large; it covered a comfortable area.”

 

“Did you like it?”

 

“Usually. We had sex several times every day -- in the woods, in his bunk, in the kitchens, in a bathroom stall, wherever we could go and be alone long enough to get our pants hiked down -- until I killed the cult leader two weeks after that. I left the island as soon as the deed was done and I have never seen Yorin again.”

 

“Ah, his name is Yorin,” Hisoka said, grinning fangedly.

 

Illumi’s cheeks went a little pink for the first time since telling the story. “Yes.”

 

Hisoka’s hands slid along the hem of Illumi’s boxers. “What about the other?”

 

“I met Satsukin maybe a month after that. We were both in Yotok, taking an elevator up to the restaurant that used to be on the top of Robo Tower there. He started talking to me. I wanted to kill him, to make him stop talking.”

 

“Ah, a promising start…” Hisoka smiled.

 

“As soon as the elevator reached the top, he then revealed that he knew who I was -- the oldest Zoldyck child, he said -- and that he was an associate of my father’s. He gave me his ca --”

 

“Associate of your father’s? How old is he?”

 

“Satsukin is fifty-five this year.”

 

Hisoka’s face went still.

 

“Yorin was forty-eight…” Illumi said, as if that would help his case somehow.

 

“Ah. Yorin had sex with a virgin eighteen year old in the woods and had planned for it --” The corner of Hisoka’s mouth tilted up. “He sounds like a pervert.”

 

“Says you…”

 

“I don’t go stalking barely legal boys with lube and condoms in my pockets.”

 

Illumi conceded; Hisoka had a point.

 

“And Satsukin, a friend of your father’s, who knew who you were --”

 

“Satsukin is not a pervert,” Illumi said.

 

“What happened, then?”

 

“Satsukin had given me his contact information, for when I was in Yotok. Late that night, I climbed through the balcony of his penthouse. He was still awake, and a little drunk, and he invited me to sit. I almost left, but then he put a hand on my face, and I fell into it, because I wanted to be touched.” Illumi stopped there.

 

“Then you had sex.”

 

“I left after without saying goodbye; I had to catch a helicopter back to the manor.”

 

Hisoka exhaled and sat back, slowly. “Those are the only two?”

 

Illumi nodded.

 

“You went without sex from age eighteen until twenty-five.”

 

“I did not say that.”

 

Hisoka froze.

 

“Satsukin and I maintained a relationship until shortly before the Hunter’s Exam.”

 

Hisoka’s whole being was stone cold. “You were in...a relationship.”

 

“For roughly six years.”

 

“You have never mentioned him --”

 

“I told you my reasoning. Both Yorin and Satsukin are alive. Associating myself with them could change that and it is not my intention to do so until someone pays to have me assassinate them.” Illumi tilted his head.

 

“What was the relationship like?”

 

“Satsukin traveled as often as I did. He is a business mogul. We saw each other twice a month, for several days each, though more often during the holiday season because both of our businesses are slower in the winter months. We would stay in his penthouse.”

 

“And you broke up.”

 

“Satsukin is married and has children,” Illumi said, “So we came to a mutual agreement to end our relationship. I believed it was straining to him and I had several big jobs to do myself in the next year or two. It was easier to stop than to go.”

 

Hisoka narrowed his eyes, but smiled. “I’m not sure I believe any of it. Did you love him?”

 

“No.”

 

“Did he love you?”

 

“No.”

 

“Are you sure?”

 

Illumi shrugged. “He never said it; we never said it. Our relationship was --” he stopped himself short, and went pink in the face again. He was about to say _not like the one I have with you._

 

“Mm…” Hisoka picked up on it, like he always did, and leaned in to kiss Illumi’s knees again.

 

“Will you tell me yours?” Illumi asked, leaning in, too, so that their foreheads nearly touched.

 

“It is a fairly long list,” Hisoka said. “I had lots of sex as a teenager.”

 

“Never with any perverts, I assume,” Illumi said.

 

“Maybe a few.”

 

“How many people have you been with?”

 

Hisoka glanced up, counting in his head. “Probably -- near fifty.”

 

“That is not so high.”

 

“It’s probably fairly divided among men and women. And a handful of others.”

 

Illumi tilted his head, still leaned in close.

 

“Never a relationship.”

 

“Why not?”

 

Hisoka smirked. “You know why.”

 

“What about children?”

 

Hisoka’s face fell so hard that it could have shattered on pavement. “No.”

 

“I assume not all encounters were safe…”

 

Hisoka made a face. “I’m not a father.”

 

“Would you know?”

 

Hisoka pushed himself back, and collapsed back into his seat properly on the couch. Illumi blinked. Sensitive subject.

 

Illumi chewed his lip for a minute. “I am your first relationship.”

 

Hisoka looked over with his eyes only, still facing the television. “Mm.”

 

“You are the only person I have topped in sex,” Illumi said. Offering it like a consolation prize.

 

Hisoka took it. “Never before?”

 

“Satsukin and Yorin did not like it.”

 

“Do you?”

 

“Yes,” Illumi said.

 

“Ah…” Hisoka looked at Illumi and smiled. “I don’t even remember the first time.”

 

Illumi broke his stare and looked over to the television. “I remember.”

 

“Was it good?”

 

Illumi was quiet for a bit, like he wouldn’t answer. The television blinked in the dim light as the documentary came to a close. Finally, he said, “It is always good with you. It wasn’t always good with anyone else.”

 

“Hmm…” Hisoka pulled Illumi’s feet out of his lap and slid up the couch to face him nose-to-nose, eyes dark. “Something we both agree on.”

 

 


	8. Cat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A request from Tumblr.

The fever had made Hisoka completely delirious. Quite possibly the only thing more unsettling than a blood-thirsty hyper-powered magician was a blood-thirsty hyper-powered magician that saw things that weren’t there.

Right now, it was a cat.

“No,” Illumi said, stomping in front of Hisoka where he was crawling on all-fours on the floor, looking beneath the furniture, and chirping like he could get the invisible creature to come back out. “Get back into bed.”

Hisoka’s complexion was waxy and white, devoid of makeup. He had purplish circles beneath his eyes – and his wide pointed mouth, usually primed in a smile, was pale like his face. He was blatantly unwell.

If nothing else, the fact that he was wearing only a pair of gray socks – yes, gray – was more than enough evidence.

“Did you get me a cat, Illu?” Hisoka asked. Sweat beaded up at the top of his red hairline. His hair was pushed out of his face haphazardly, faded from red to pink in an ombre. A piece fell into his face as he looked up at Illumi with wide eyes. “You got me a cat.”

“No,” Illumi said. “We have discussed this previously. We will not have pets.” Illumi kneeled down, so he was eye level with Hisoka, and tilted his head. “Our furniture is nice.”

Hisoka reached out like a man possessed and stroked the long black strands of hair that fell over Illumi’s shoulder. “Do you love me, Illumi?”

Illumi slid a hand into Hisoka’s and guided it against his chest, against his heartbeat, and said, “No.”

“You won’t get a cat for me,” Hisoka said, body slowly sagging towards the floor. “You don’t love me.”

Illumi reached down and hoisted Hisoka up so he was standing with most of his weight against Illu. “That is correct,” Illumi said.

“I love you,” Hisoka croaked.

Illumi felt a chill go down his spine. He glanced at the side of Hisoka’s face and saw his eyes were closed. “That is fine for you. Come to bed.” Together they stumbled through their home until they reached Hisoka’s room. The bed was already unmade, covered in askew and colorful covers and pillows. Illumi lowered Hisoka into it and reached down to pull off his socks. He would get him a fresh pair.

“You love me,” Hisoka said, squinting down at Illumi.

“No,” Illumi said, simply. He balled the socks together and walked into Hisoka’s closet. He dropped the dirty pair into the hamper and found a fresh pair in drawer. These were pink. He leaned back out of the closet door. “Are you cold?”

Hisoka was staring up at the ceiling and his face was completely unguarded and sad. His mouth was pulled down into an exaggerated frown, eyes wet as he stared up. “I see.”

Illumi ignored him and fetched a pair of underwear and sleep pants, too. He returned to the room and forced his grumpy sullen husband into them, and then pushed him back down into the bed. When Hisoka’s eyes closed, Illumi leaned in, and placed a feather-light kiss on the tip of his sharp, sloping nose.

Hisoka fell asleep.

When he woke next, it was an entire day later, and his fever had broke. He was hungry and filthy and had almost no recollection of his fever-drunk behavior. Illumi was nowhere to be found, so Hisoka helped himself to a hot shower and a cup of rice reheated. As he ate the last few grains with the tips of his fingers, Illumi walked through the front door, a fabric carrier in one hand and a large box balanced on his opposite shoulder. He didn’t acknowledge Hisoka as he placed the carrier on their kitchen table and left with the box. Hisoka arched an eyebrow.

And then the carrier meowed.

Hisoka walked over slowly, peering in through the mesh at the top.

Large yellow eyes stared up at him. And then a small, loud, insistent voice said, again, “Mieu.”

Hisoka turned to see Illumi standing in the doorway to the kitchen. Hisoka pointed to the small white kitten now batting at the top of his container. “Did you get a cat?”

Illumi nodded, face blank.

“Why?”

Illumi moved forward and slid a hand onto Hisoka’s chest. He leaned in, pressed a gentle kiss to his lips, and walked away once more. Out of the kitchen. Without a word. Hisoka’s brows knitted close.

“Hm.” At that, the kitten meowed, again. Hisoka opened the carrier and lifted it – him or her, he didn’t know – free. It was young, fur downy and solid white. Hisoka brought it close, so that they were nose to nose. The kitten fit in one hand, and its eyes were almost the size of its entire face. It blinked.

Hisoka was reminded of Illumi, with that sort of big-eyed emptiness, and so he smiled. “How sweet.”


End file.
